


Aftermath

by Rin_the_Shadow



Series: To Turn Spark [18]
Category: Transformers (Unicron Trilogy), Transformers: Armada
Genre: Aftermath of Canon Character Death, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Attacks, Fights, Gen, Grieving, Guilt, Some hurt/comfort, allusions to past abuse, angst with a relative happy ending, or at least an ending that implies there will be?, struggling to cope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 19:32:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19157530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rin_the_Shadow/pseuds/Rin_the_Shadow
Summary: In the wake of Optimus Prime's sacrifice against the Hydra Cannon, his team struggles to pick up the pieces and move forward.Counterpart to the Autobots' part of the episode "Remorse."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll put an advance warning for frequent mention of a past canon character death, as well as a fight between two characters which I have sometimes found distressing in the real episode. I chose not to tag "Major Character Death," because the character death took place in the preceding fic, and so I felt it would be a bit misleading, though I can change the tag if people prefer.

There hadn’t been a ceremony when they had sworn Jetfire in as commander. It wasn’t what Optimus would have wanted, they said. He would have wanted them to carry on as usual. But none of them could bring themselves to do it.

It had been strange to Alexis, to hear that he didn’t want them to mourn, and she had voiced as much to Rad. Wouldn’t you want people to miss you if you had died? How could anyone think it was possible not to? Rad answered that he’d known there were some who didn’t, that they wanted you to remember something else instead, but he hadn’t known why any better than she had.

Fred had begged Red Alert to find some way to bring Optimus back, even after Jetfire was sworn in, even though the medic had told him it was impossible. He had protested, of course, crying out, “But what about Smokescreen—I mean Hoist? We thought he was gonna die, too, but you managed it with him!”

Red Alert stiffened at the reminder. “It’s not the same,” he said. “His spark was still inside of him. I may have transferred it, but it wasn’t outside of his body for more than a few minutes, and even then, the risk… Optimus’s spark was released hours ago.” He forced himself to continue, despite the tightness in his voice. “If there was _any_ chance of recovering it, it’s long since passed.” And with that, he had grabbed a data pad and shut himself up inside the medbay.

It had shaken all of them to see that. Red Alert _had_ emotions. He had never been a computer drone, regardless of what anyone might have said in the past. But he had always been able to push them back to do what needed to be done, to hold out until the end of that difficult conversation the others didn’t want to take up, that impossible surgery that no one else could finish. If _he_ needed to step away, then to say it didn’t look good was an understatement at least.

Blurr had locked himself away in the training room, which was probably for the best given what she knew of him.

Several of the others shuffled around, slowly continuing work on the _Axalon_. “Right now, it’s really the only thing we can do,” Jetfire had stated when he gave the order. Even then, he didn’t sound too sure of it.

And in some ways, it might not have been the best choice. Jetfire had made it an optional work call, to let the others do their grieving as they saw fit, but only Red Alert, Blurr, and Starscream had opted out.

Scavenger was unreadable as ever, quietly hovering over the others and working simple jobs that would let him step away quickly if he needed to intervene in anything. Jetfire had started work inside the ship, but had left when three of the Mini-Cons came up and started beeping almost frantically, gesturing for him to follow them.

She wondered what that was about. She hit refresh on her browser once again. It wasn’t going to tell her anything new, but it was better than sitting there staring or picking her nails off.

The tension in the air was almost palpable. Hot Shot moved like he was either going to break down or scrap someone, snapping at anyone who so much as looked at him the wrong way, and then telling _them_ to back off when they called him out on it.

Then there was a clatter. “Watch where you’re going, will you!”

Everyone’s head jerked up at the noise. Hoist had whipped around, and Sideswipe shrunk back from the mess of pipes and plating he’d been carrying.

Almost instantly, Hoist realized his mistake, reaching towards the younger bot. “Scrap, I’m sorry, Sideswipe. I didn’t mean…”

Alexis shut her laptop and scrambled out of the room before he could finish. Hoist had snapped at Sideswipe. She couldn’t remember the last time she had even seen him _look_ annoyed. Hot Shot had already joined in with something Alexis didn’t care to hear, and it probably wouldn’t have mattered even if she _had_ heard the words. It was like a bad dream that wouldn’t make any sense to her once she woke up, except that she knew she couldn’t wake up from this.

“I’m going outside for a minute,” she told Rad as she passed, not registering his facial expression.

He called something after her, but she didn’t hear it. As soon as she was outside the base, she ran.

When she found that place in the rocks, she sat down and folded her knees to her chest, staring ahead. There wasn’t much to look at here, but it was quiet and secluded. A good place to be alone if she didn’t want to be found for awhile. She could take a moment to catch her breath, filter out everything that was surging around inside of her until she didn’t feel like she was locked in the warp chamber.

She inhaled and then slowly let it out. Sureshock would come to check on her soon enough. Until then, she’d just focus on the sounds of the wind and her own breathing. Optimus had said things would work out, and she still didn’t think he was lying. It just wasn’t there yet. She just needed a moment, that’s all.

* * *

 

The sound of air compressions and lightly bumping metal that greeted her half an hour later sounded too big to be Sureshock, but she opted not to turn around. She felt, if not better, at least calmer, and she didn’t really want to leave her position just yet. Sureshock or not, they would understand.

“Your Mini-Con said you would be here,” the voice rasped. Ah. Definitely not Sureshock.

Alexis waited a moment, wondering if he would say anything more. When he didn’t say anything, she looked at him, offering a small smile before turning back.

“Hey Starscream. I just…needed to be alone for awhile,” she said. Usually, it would have been him telling her that. Any other time, it would have been funny.

Part of her expected him to say something else, that people were worried, that she needed to come back to the base, maybe that he understood the feeling. Any of the things she might have tried to say. But he said nothing, merely offering a grunt of acknowledgment.

He didn’t really do well in those kinds of situations either, did he? If he wasn’t the one in the argument, or even if he was, there was always just a bit too much tension below the surface. It didn’t take a genius to guess what he expected.

Maybe she should offer for him to sit down, too? But then, it was such a small space—that was why she’d chosen it as her hiding spot, after all. She wasn’t sure if he would even fit, or if he’d want to try.

It was another minute or so before she stood up. “I guess maybe we should go back to the base, huh?”

She’d suspected that was why he had come out in the first place, but his helm tilted just the slightest bit, as if he hadn’t expected her to say that. “Are you sure you’re…all right to do so?”

No. “Yeah, I think so,” she nodded, starting at a brisk walk.

It would be all right. Things had to have cooled down at least a little bit, right?


	2. Chapter 2

To say things hadn’t cooled down was an understatement. And frankly, Starscream wasn’t sure why either of them had expected any differently. As they entered the base, the sounds of shouts and harsh footsteps thumping down the halls greeted them almost instantly.

Well, at least there was _something_ familiar about all this, an ironic part of him thought. Perhaps Optimus Prime had been onto something when he insisted Autobots and Decepticons weren’t so different after all. The only difference was that it wasn’t directed at _him_ this time. Still, he reminded himself, there was no Megatron here. He didn’t have to worry about it turning on him.

Even if it did, there was no reason to expect…

Below him, Alexis sighed, shifting on her heels and pressing her palms against her forehead. It really would have been better if she hadn’t come back yet. Sureshock had said (and Swindle had translated) that she had a good handle on how much stress she could take, and she could decide when to come back on her own. But clearly, this was beyond her normal limits.

Though it wasn’t as if it would have stopped him in her place.

But before he could ask if she was all right, two of her human friends came running up—Rad and Carlos, if he wasn’t mistaken.

“Alexis! Hey, I’m really sorry about all this—” Why? It wasn’t like a human could start a fight of this magnitude. Especially not one as stridently opposed to conflict as Rad.

“—But Hot Shot and Scavenger are really going at it! I don’t know what happened!” Carlos finished, fingers digging in his hair. “I mean, Hot Shot’s been on the warpath lately, but—”

As if on-cue, a shout rang out through the halls. “Wait! Where are we going? Let go of me!” And then there was a screech of the warp gate powering up.

Starscream felt the energon freezing in his circuits. He was _not_ about to do this in front of the kids. Why had he thought it was a good idea to come back again?

“Can you…can you enter the coordinates in the computer we use?” Rad shifted, not quite looking at her. “I wanna keep an eye on them, just in case…”

It was like a switch had flipped inside of her, as she adopted a serious expression and clenched her fists at her sides. “Okay,” she said, taking off running in the direction of the control room.

Starscream vented, following close behind at a slower pace. It wasn’t the same. Even with the Decepticons, Scavenger had voiced his disapproval of Megatron’s methods. Though he’d never stopped them, either.

Slag, why had he thought it was a good idea to come back?

* * *

 

Hot Shot swayed as his processor reoriented itself. Ugh. The warp gate always did that to him, and the angle Scavenger was dragging him didn’t help, forcing him to stagger and twist to stay even remotely on his feet.

“I said let go of me!” he growled.

Scavenger didn’t answer him, walking a few paces farther before tossing him forwards. He stumbled a bit, leaning against the guard walls. It looked like a highway, and one that had never finished construction before it was abandoned.

What was even the point of this? Why had he dragged him out here when they should have been going after the Decepticons?

Finally, Scavenger spoke. “Get up.”

He’d spoken in such a low growl, Hot Shot almost thought he hadn’t said anything. “What?”

“You heard me,” Scavenger answered, nearly emotionless. “Get up and fight.”

This wasn’t making any sense! Hot Shot rolled out of the way just in time to dodge a tread-covered fist.

“Back off, Scavenger! What’s your deal?” he snapped, forcing himself to his feet. “I thought we were on the same side! I'm an Autobot, same as you!”

“You think so? Why don’t you think about the way you’ve been acting lately,” Scavenger answered, still in a fighting stance though he did not approach.

Hot Shot ground his teeth, bracing himself for combat. He really wanted to play _that_ one on him? “You saw how everyone else was! I’m not the only one! Just because I actually want to _do_ something instead of just sitting around being—”

“If you’re angry about Optimus’s death, fine. That’s your way of dealing with it,” the old veteran cut him off. “But you _will not_ take that out on the others, you understand?” He advanced slowly, and for a moment, Hot Shot thought he could see the shadow of what he had been at the military academy. “So if you want a fight, you’ll have to deal with me.”

If that was the way he wanted it, fine! This time, it was Hot Shot who swung first, shooting forward with a harsh strike the older bot easily avoided, dodging and striking his knee out from under him.

It was an easy opportunity to follow it, strike him down and out. But for some reason, Scavenger didn’t take it. Was he treating him like some trainee who didn’t know the basics? He dropped to the ground and swept his leg in a wide circle. Again, Scavenger simply stepped away.

“Don’t treat me like a kid, Scavenger! I can handle you!” he growled, lunging.

If he didn’t know better, he would have thought he looked disappointed. “Very well, then.”

* * *

Back at the base, the monitor screens had just pulled up in time to see the old veteran step aside, catching the young Autobot’s fist and using his momentum to send him crashing into the side.

Rad and the others crowded around as Alexis furiously tapped against the side of the keyboard, mumbling softly as they fought. Stop, stop, _stop_.

When Hot Shot charged again, Scavenger intercepted with a strike of his own, sending him sprawling before he got back up. Rad had seen a few fights like that before, though he’d never been much for it himself. Guys got mad and slugged it out behind the school. Even the Autobots had had spars that seemed a little less than friendly.

But with how Hot Shot had been gunning for someone’s spark and _especially_ the fact that _Scavenger_ had always seemed above that sort of thing…It was enough to make him want to wring his hands over his hair, too.

“Stop it! _Stop it!_ ” Alexis screamed, hunching forward and burying her face in her hands.

Rad reached a hand towards her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. “Guys, this seems really serious!” he said, turning towards the other Autobots. “Isn’t there any way we can put a stop to it?”

“Yeah,” Carlos agreed. “It really looks like they’re gonna scrap each other!”

“We can’t,” Jetfire answered. “This is…I know it looks bad, but this is something they have to do.”

That answer did nothing to assuage Alexis, who shrieked back, “No! No, it’s not! You have to stop it, Jetfire! Please!”

As if on cue, there was a bright flash on the screen. It only took Rad a second to process what happened. Hot Shot had fired on Scavenger. That...wasn't a normal thing for them.

Several of the Autobots shifted, some resigned to the situation, while others seemed more apprehensive, like they wanted to say something, but weren’t sure what. Sideswipe kept shifting from foot to foot, glancing back and forth between the kids and the other Autobots. Starscream hung back near the entrance, looking like he wanted to bolt, but keeping his eyes trained on the monitors.

Unseen by the group, Red Alert came to the entrance, surveying quickly and noticing the screen, as well as Starscream’s reaction to it. He said something which caught his attention, but Rad couldn’t make out what it was.

“It’s okay, Alexis,” Fred spoke up, starting to reach for her and then thinking better of it and putting his hand on her chair instead. “It’ll be okay.” He didn’t sound at all convinced.

“Yeah,” Billy added. “I used to get into fights like this all the time. They’ll stop before anyone gets seriously hurt.”

She didn’t seem to hear him, shooting up out of her chair and rounding on Jetfire. “This is not the time for this! Jetfire, please...!” The former Autobot second shifted his gaze to a spot on the floor opposite her. She froze, then turned to the others. “Please, somebody…Please, you have to…”


	3. Chapter 3

Hot Shot strained against the force of Scavenger trying to push him back into the wall. “Why?” he snarled. “Why don’t _any_ of you get what I have to do? I’ve gotta get revenge for Optimus!”

“You’re acting like a mercenary, Hot Shot!” the former spy barked. “Is that what you want? To go off on your own for some revenge mission that’s likely as not to get you _killed_?”

Hot Shot feinted, letting him think he was pulling back for a swing and then ducking to the opposite side, aiming a kick which Scavenger avoided like it was nothing. “You’d know a lot about that!”

He expected Scavenger to take a swing at that, maybe fire a laser cannon. “You’re right,” he said simply. “I would. I kept that cover for decades, and do you know what it was like?” He twisted to avoid the young Autobot’s swing.

“Do you know what it’s like to fight on your own, no contact except for the one who gave you your assignment?” He stepped forward this time, forcing Hot Shot to take a step back. “I went without contacting any of my comrades, with the only exception as my contact among the Autobots, for _years_ at a time. And there were times when I couldn’t even contact _them_ because it would have compromised me.”

He took another step. And maybe Hot Shot should have taken the opportunity to strike back, but he felt his circuits locking up and he took another step back. “Do you know what that does to a ‘bot without the training and the system for it? What I’ve _seen_ it do to ‘bots even _with_ the training? Do you think that’s what _Optimus_ would have wanted for you?”

And _that_ stung more than any blow he could have struck him with. “Optimus is _dead!_ ” he snarled back, lunging forward with a punch which Scavenger calmly caught in his own hand.

“That’s right,” Scavenger answered, catching his other fist as he struggled to free himself. “Optimus died because he chose to sacrifice himself for the rest of us.”

“He wouldn’t have had to do it if we’d just gone after the Decepticons before they fired that test shot!” He could feel his resolve weakening as he pulled against his mentor’s grip.

“Perhaps not,” he nodded, the slightest grief creeping into his tone. “But the point remains. He chose to prioritize the group over himself, and we owe it to him not to waste his sacrifice by fighting amongst ourselves.”

He gave the weariest of smiles. “Do you really think he would want you to destroy yourself trying to avenge him? Do you think any of us would want that for you?”

Hot Shot ground his teeth, unable to look at him. “I…shouldn’t have argued with his decisions.”

“Plenty of Autobots have argued with his decisions before,” Scavenger pointed out. “If I recall, he always welcomed such discussion.” It was what had made Jetfire such a fitting second-in-command.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at him,” he continued. “I should have agreed to hold onto the Matrix…” No. Before that. “I shouldn’t have left Starscream alone when the Skyboom Shield went missing, or argued with Optimus when he let him on the team…”

“But all that happened,” Scavenger stopped him.

“Optimus…believed things would work out in the end. But how can I agree with that when it got him—?”

“You don’t have to agree with it,” Scavenger released his hands as he dropped to his knees. “But you don’t have to destroy yourself over it, either.”

“Yeah, bro…” He froze at the sound of Sideswipe’s voice. When had he warped in? “I…uh…I know it’s been hard for you lately, and I just wanted to say, I’m worried about you. I’m no good with stuff like this, so I can’t tell you to stop getting angry or anything, just…Make sure you can come back to us when you’re done, okay?”

Their youngest member turned to Scavenger. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have butted in, but I…”

The old veteran simply nodded. If he said anything else, Hot Shot didn’t register it. Sideswipe had been worried. Slag, he’d been so upset, he hadn’t even considered how Sideswipe was doing. And hadn’t they sworn they were brothers? But he hadn’t given up on him, even when he’d lashed out at everyone.

“I still want revenge for Optimus,” he started. “I just…I don’t know what to do.” Everything was coming apart around him and even the attempts to pick up the pieces were…

“I know,” Scavenger answered. “You don’t have to know right now. We’ll figure it out together.”

Sideswipe nodded. And Hot Shot wanted to say something more, but he felt his intakes beginning to shudder and his vocalizer failing, and so he just sat there, protocols running, sounding like he’d been strangled by everything that was happening.

* * *

 

When he came out of it, he saw that the rest of the team had come somewhere in there, expressions carefully neutral for those who didn’t wear masks. A ways back from the group, Red Alert transformed, and he noticed the kids standing in front of him. Starscream was nearby, close enough that the medic could intervene if something went wrong. It didn’t take a genius to guess what.

“Hey guys,” Hot Shot’s voice sounded tight against his vocalizer. “I’m…sorry about before. Um, if you don’t mind, I’d like to forget about today for awhile.”

He stood up, feeling a bit shaky on his legs and letting Scavenger support him. “Sheesh, man, you really pack a wallop!” he tried to joke.

A few of the Autobots made an effort to laugh. Thankfully, none of them said anything more.

After a few minutes, though, it started to feel a bit awkward. “Hey, c’mon, guys. Shouldn’t we be heading back to the base?” He turned to Jetfire. “What’s the project, commander?”

“About that…” Jetfire started, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wanted to wait until things had settled down, but I’ve been communing with the Matrix these past few days.”

Something electric shot through everyone. The Matrix had always been a bit mysterious even to those who had possessed it, and if someone felt the need to announce communication with it, well…

“You see, I’ve been training most of my career to take over for Optimus when the time came. But actually, the Matrix chose you.”

He’d said it so calmly, it took a split second before anyone registered what he’d said. Then all at once, the murmur shook through the group. The Matrix had spoken? Even after another commander had been sworn in? And how would they manage the transition? Did it mean Jetfire would return to second-in-command? Was there a protocol for having chosen a leader when the Matrix chose otherwise?

Only Starscream and the children seemed confused by this. The kids looked back and forth between each other, and he could see Alexis trying to figure it out using her hands, while Starscream tried to school his expression into one of indifference. He probably didn’t want the others to know he didn’t understand.

“Are you serious?” Hot Shot almost failed to recognize his own voice.

“Hey,” Jetfire shrugged, looking almost like his old self. “I wouldn’t joke about the Matrix of Leadership.”

“I…slag, I…” He rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he had something more appropriate to say.

Luckily, Jetfire understood. “Don’t worry, bud. I’ll still be around to help. Can’t let you forget what team you’re on, now can I?”

“It will take time for you to transition into the role, of course,” Red Alert added, not quite leaving his position by Starscream and the kids. “You won’t be expected to understand everything at once.”

“Hey,” Jetfire quipped. “Gotta steal my thunder?” he chuckled. “But yeah, that’s right. We’ll be behind you all the way.”

“Right, right, just…give me a second, yeah?” He shuddered, offlining his optics while he tried to process it. “I guess…Jetfire’s order still stands. We’ll continue work on the _Axalon_. And…I guess we’ll see when the earliest we can lift off is?”

That was what Optimus would have said, right?

“Hey, now,” Scavenger nudged him gently. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. We haven’t even sworn you in yet.”

Oops. Ah, well. Sometimes, you just had to laugh. A wave of relief swept through the others as well.

Jetfire waved a hand. “Guess we’ll take care of that, and then, sure, my orders still stand. Now come on, let’s get back to the base.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me quite a bit longer to pump out than I had anticipated, in part because I'm now juggling two fandoms and a summer course, but also because I wanted to figure out how I wanted to do the fight between Scavenger and Hot Shot, the way I thought it fit into this AU. 
> 
> I didn't end up touching on it quite as much as I had intended to, but while I was watching the episode and reading the transcript to prepare to fit it, a thought I had was that the way Scavenger reacts to Hot Shot would be something Starscream, having served under Megatron previously, would find distressing. Alexis's response in the actual episode helped provide something of a verbal echo to it, as well, though she doesn't have the same history that Starscream did.
> 
> Writing some of the dialogue during the fight, though...I'm beginning to see why the English scriptwriters had such a hard time. XD
> 
> In any event, please let me know what you think!  
> ~Rin


End file.
